It’s a Wonderful i

Finally, in closing, I just want to make a simple observation – if i were to suddenly disappear tomorrow, the world as we know it would change significantly. So much of the world’s business runs on i, hidden away where it silently toils, day after day. Think about it…

The IBM i doesn’t receive as much attention as it deserves within the mainstream tech press. And among the more general press, it’s practically unheard of. In many ways this is unfortunate, but it is also a reflection of the sheer reliability of this system.

It doesn’t tend to be used for all of the flashy customer-facing stuff that attracts all of the column inches but what it does do – and do well – is handle all of the dull but essential process upon which the flashy parts depend. When you walk into a shop there is a good chance that an IBM i somewhere in the supply chain ensuring it’s fully stocked. Similarly, when you visit a web site to order a product online, there is also a good chance that the allocation, picking and shipping of your order is being handled by an IBM i.

In short, there are a huge number of IT processes on which we all depend and the dependability of the IBM i makes it a natural choice to manage these processes.

It’s not flashy and we often take these things for granted. But we would all miss it if it wasn’t there.